-
What Happens to My Body During Dry January?
Q: What are the health effects of Dry January? Can cutting back on alcohol for a month have long-term benefits? Champagne, eggnog, mulled wine — for many, the holiday season is a time for celebration, which typically involves copious amounts of alcohol. So it’s no surprise that an estimated 15 to 19 percent of U.S. adults in recent years have pledged to participate in Dry January, or “Drynuary,” in an effort to atone for their December choices and, hopefully, slightly unpickle their livers. There’s been little research into what, exactly, a month off alcohol can do for your health.
-
The Black Mamba Effect: Psychological Science Says Adopting an Alter Ego Boosts Confidence, Determination, and Performance
For years, whenever we asked each other for advice, my daughters and I often replied, "What would Granddaddy Haden do?" Usually, that would end the problem-solving: My dad would have chosen the hard way through, not the easy way out. "What would Granddaddy Haden do?" became shorthand for making a decision you could live with. While we didn't think of it that way, taking a step back to view a situation from his point of view was a form of self-distancing, helping us gain better control of our emotions and be more objective and logical.
-
How to Be Happy Growing Older
Next to one’s birthday, the passing of the calendar year induces us to reflect on the march of time in our life. This is not a welcome subject for many—which is perhaps why a lot of people simply redefine old age virtually out of existence. When Americans were asked in 2009 what “being old” means, the most popular response was turning 85. Yet the average life span in the United States in 2022 was only 76. Apparently, then, the average American dies nine years before getting old.
-
2023’s Mind-Bending Revelations in the Brain Sciences
This year was full of roiling debate and speculation about the prospect of machines with superhuman capabilities that might, sooner than expected, leave the human brain in the dust. A growing public awareness of ChatGPT and other so-called large language models (LLMs) dramatically expanded public awareness of artificial intelligence. In tandem, it raised the question of whether the human brain can keep up with the relentless pace of AI advances. The most benevolent answer posits that humans and machines need not be cutthroat competitors.
-
Wharton Psychologist on How to Reach Your Potential: People ‘Really Underestimate the Slow Learners, the Late Bloomers’
Are you a formerly “gifted” kid, struggling to find success as an adult? Organizational psychologist Adam Grant may have a solution for you. Put simply: Instead of giving up when things don’t come naturally to you, start thinking like a “late bloomer.” “Natural talent is overrated,” Grant, a bestselling author and psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, recently told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “Most child prodigies do not grow up to become adult geniuses. And I think that leaves us to really underestimate the slow learners, the late bloomers.” ...
-
Why We Click on Stuff We Know We Won’t Like
Why is there a deluge of divisive and negative content on social media? Is it simply that — despite what we’d prefer to think about ourselves — we like this kind of stuff? After all, research suggests that negativity — especially about our political opponents — is likeliest to go viral online. Maybe the basic explanation is that everyone wants to see content that reinforces their political biases and makes their enemies look bad. But a new study we’ve published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science suggests this couldn’t be further from the truth. Our engagement behavior does not reflect our preferences.
